If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

How to expand to a second crew?

This question comes to us from Jon of Legacy Lawn Care. Thanks for your question Jon&#33;

Question: How do you suggest expanding from one two-man crew to more?

Answer: The jump from a one two-man crew to more crews can be a challenge. Consider these points as you think about making that move.

1) Take a close look at your numbers. Have your accountant also look at your books. Are you profiting with your one crew? If you are not profiting with one crew, hiring more crews will not help you.

2) If you decide you are definitely ready for more staff the big question is how to transition since you are bound to go through a period where you are too busy for one crew but not busy enough for two. Here are a couple of suggestions:

a) What I did was hire a third person for my existing crew. That way we could get our jobs done faster and fit more customers into our day. When you reach the breaking point for the three-man crew then you can hire one more person and create a new two-man crew.

b) Another suggestion is to hire part timers to work 2, 3 or 4 days a week. This is less desirable because you will have the crew&#39;s vehicle and equipment sitting idle for some of the time and that&#39;s a waste of resources. However, if you are growing fast enough and can build up this crew to full time in short order (say a few months) then it is a fair strategy.

If you are doing things right and your market is good you will probably find that, whichever method you use, you will grow into a new crew fairly quickly.